I know this is a really old thread but thought it might be good to comment. When the AI first came out we had our first AI regatta followed by more after that each year. We have to categories when we race AI's/TI's to keep it simple. Category 1 is sail only and category 2 is pedal/sail. With Category 1 one can only pedal up to one minute before the start, after that it is all sail power. Category 2 is simple you pedal anytime you want, no limitations. We find simple is best, especially when participating in regatta that you are not in charge of. When racing in regattas you are not in charge of its likely thy will only allow Category 1 as they do not want to deal with the whole pedal or not pedaling issue. On a side note the reason you can only pedal up to a minute before the start gun goes off is because we did not want anyone getting any benefit of pedaling full speed to the line (lift generated by more speed via pedal power). If a young person pedals harder than an old guy then he will have an advantage of a little more speed at the line.